The increase in online doctoral programs and need for mentoring research at a distance make it important to identify the challenges faced by online students, the technologies and strategies used by mentors that help online students, and the strategies used by online students that contribute to successful degree completion. In what ways can a supervisor-student mentoring relationship be successfully created and doctoral students be successfully supported in an online environment? This research presents the mentoring experience of sixteen online students who recently graduated from an online doctoral program and four faculty members who mentored them at a distance.

1. Faculty and Student Experiences
with Online Mentoring
Swapna Kumar & Catherine Coe
AERA 2015
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2. Ed.D. Program Context
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Dissertation
• Problem of practice
• Five chapters
• Rigor
• Advances practice, initiates change and impacts
educational environment

3. Ed.D. Program Context
• Professionals in K-12 (traditional/virtual), post-
secondary, corporate, and other educational settings.
• Geographically dispersed
• Cohort model – Peer Support
• Inquiry groups
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4. Online Mentoring
• Online Mentoring
• Medical Education
• Business
• Mentoring relationships between student and graduate advisor
(Lee, 2008; Maher, Ford, & Thompson, 2004)
• Educational development, professional development and
psychosocial development (Hayes & Koro-Ljungberg, 2011)
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5. Methodology
• 17 graduates from two cohorts (10 + 7)
• Four faculty who mentored those students
• Semi-structured interviews
• 30-45 minutes, online or in-person
• Member checking
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6. Methodology
Questions
• Mentoring experience – What was it like? How
did it work?
• Strategies used by the mentor that were useful?
• Challenges faced? Addressed?
• Strategies used by the student that worked or
didn’t work?
• Suggestions for mentoring next cohort?
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7. • Inductive coding process
• Faculty data and student data coded separately
• Two researchers: Independently coded, then discussed
• Third researcher
• Triangulation
Methodology
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8. Results
• Mentoring strategies that helped students
• Challenges faced by students
• Strategies used by students termed essential
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9. Results
Strategies used by mentors that helped students
• Choice of communication channels
• Timely feedback and timelines
• Types of feedback = specific / candid feedback
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10. Results
Strategies used by mentors that helped students
• Structure
• Small group mentoring
• Structured peer interaction
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11. Results
Challenges faced by students
• Time management, work-life balance, motivation
to continue writing
• Research implementation
• Handling / acting on feedback
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12. Results
Challenges faced by mentors
• Workload – multiple mentees
• Giving feedback online
• PhD vs. EdD dissertations
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13. Results
Strategies used by students that were valuable
• Establish consistent communication with mentor
• Ask questions and find communication channel
• Establish deadlines
• Establish peer group
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14. Discussion / Implications
• Clear communication, honest feedback -> perceptions of
ideal mentor (Rose, 2003)
• Mentor Competences: Multiple modes of communication
in mentoring, managerial competence. Social or Online
developmental competence.
• Students prefer faculty to initiate structure (Johnson, Lee,
& Green, 2000)
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15. Discussion / Implications
Implications for online programs
• Dissertation guiding principles
• On-campus resources (Library, IRB, EDT)
• Writing practice and feedback
• Structuring Peer support – students do not self-organize
• Documentation
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16. References
• Bierema, L.L. & Merrian, S.B. (2002). E-mentoring: Using computer mediated
communication to enhance the mentoring process. Innovative Higher Education, 26(3),
211-227.
• Burnett, P.C. (1999). The supervision of doctoral dissertations using a collaborative cohort
model. Counselor Education and Supervision, 39(1), 46-52.
• Ives, G. & Rowley, G. (2005). Supervisor selection or allocation and continuity of
supervision: Ph.D. students progress and outcomes. Studies in Higher Education, 30,
535-555.
• Johnson, L., Lee, A., & Green, B. (2000). The Ph.D. and the Autonomous Self: Gender,
rationality, and postgraduate pedagogy. Studies in Higher Education, 25(2), 135-147.
• Kumar, S., Johnson, M. L., & Hardemon, T. (2013).
Dissertations at a Distance: Students’ perceptions of Online Mentoring in a Doctoral
Program. Journal of Distance Education, 27(1).
• Lee, A. (2008). How are doctoral students supervised? Concepts of doctoral research
supervision. Studies in Higher Education, 33(3), 267-281.
• Lyons, W., Scroggins, D., & Rule, P.B. (1990). The mentor in graduate education. Studies in
Higher Education, 15(3), 277-285.
• Rose, G.L. (2003). Enhancement of mentor selection using the ideal mentor scale. Research
in Higher Education, 44(4), 473-494.
• Schichtel, M. (2010). Core-competence skills in e-mentoring for medical educators: A
conceptual exploration. Medical Teacher, 32(7), e248-e262.
• Warner, M. & Witzel, M. (2004). Managing in virtual organizations. London: Thomson
Learning.
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